LINCOLN City manager David Holdsworth believes Newport County AFC have the staying power to sustain their flying start to the season.

Holdsworth, twin brother of former Exiles boss Dean, felt his side deserved a point at Rodney Parade on Saturday but conceded that the hosts have the quality to hurt anyone in the division.

A brace from new signing Aaron O’Connor took his goal tally to five in three matches as County kept up their 100 per cent record with a 2-1 win to remain top of the Blue Square Bet Premier.

The Imps rallied after the break with a goal from Jamie Taylor and pushed hard for an equaliser, but Justin Edinburgh’s men held on.

"Newport are a big side and I’ve got a huge amount of respect for them," said Holdsworth. "They are a well- run club with great people.

"The investment they’ve made has been considerable and I think they’ll do well but we gave them a very good run for their money.

"We dominated the second half and were very unlucky not to come away with something.

"But I’m realistic to know what we’ve got and what Newport have got and fair play to Newport."

Edinburgh paid tribute to the support from the crowd of 3,022 on Saturday and admitted that his side had come through a good test.

"Since I’ve come to this club I’ve been astounded by the support we’ve had," he said.

"The crowd were like a 12th man and hopefully the more we win, the more will come along.

"We’ve had a great start but we’ve got to maintain it now.

"We took our chances very well but the second half was made very difficult for us by a resurgent Lincoln side.

"We expected them to come at us and they did but I think everyone at this club will have gone home with a smile on their face.

"We are learning as we go along and we can see we have got resilience. We can see we have got goals, and craft and guile and I’m absolutely delighted that we have had to hold on in the end for a well-deserved three points."

County are next in action at Braintree Town on Saturday and Edinburgh is pleased to have a few days without a game after a hectic start to the season.

"We’ve got a free week now and that’s important because some of these players are still getting fit," he said.

"It gives us time to regroup and look forward to next week and enjoy being top of the league."